Pre- Assessment
Concepts
Assessed
Ecosystems are communities of organisms that interact with
each other and their physical environment; that living factors
are called biotic factors and non-living factors are called
abiotic factors; biomes have specific biotic and abiotic
factors that make each one unique; all organisms have
needs that are met by their environment and adaptations
provide an advantage in meeting those needs; basic
interactions in ecosystems are food chains and food webs in
which matter cycles and energy flows; overtime, ecosystems
maintain a balance, but that balance can be changed
positively or negatively by natural and human actions.
Time
45 minutes
Materials
Individual
Prompt
Advance
preparation
1. Duplicate prompt for each student
Procedure:
1.
Explain that this assessment is to help the teacher and the students tell
what they know about ecosystems. Explain that they will probably not be
able to answer all the questions, but to try to do their best.
2.
Explain that you will use the information from this assessment to help
determine how best to help them learn more about ecosystems.
4.A Pre-Assessment
Science Matters
1 Ecosystem Pre Assessment
1. Which of the following depends on the other for shelter in order to survive?
a. Cat - dog
b. Wolf – rabbit
c. Squirrel-tree
d. Rabbit – carrot
2. What is an ecosystem?
a. The place an animal lives
b. The role that plants and animals have
c. The climate and other non living things in a certain area
d. The relationship of living and non-living things
3. Which show a path of food energy?
a. Sun->fish->plant->bear
b. Bear->fish->plant->sun
c. Sun->plant->fish->bear
d. Plant->fish->bear->sun
4. Which do decomposers provide for plants?
a. Nutrients
b. Protection
c. Shade
d. Shelter
5. A non-living part of an ecosystem might be
a. Antlers on a deer
b. Shade on a person
c. A dead leaf
d. A nut on a tree
6. If the sun were completely blocked so that it no longer provided energy to the
plants in a lake, what would happened to the remaining life in the lake?
a. Only the animals that eat the plants would die
b. Only the plants would dies
c. All of the organisms in the lake would die
d. All of the carnivores would die
7. Describe one way in which bacteria is helpful in the environment
_____________________________________________________________
4.A Pre-Assessment
Science Matters
2 8. What is a nonliving thing in freshwater ecosystems?
a. Fish
b. Frogs
c. Dead Plants
d. Water
9. Which of the following describes consumers?
a. Organisms which are able to make sugars for energy
b. Organisms that must eat other animals for energy
c. Organisms that must eat other plant or animals for energy
d. Organisms that break down dead bodies and waste
10. Bacteria, fungi and earthworms are all?
a. Scavengers
b. Decomposers
c. Consumers
d. Producers
11. Which of these is an example of camouflage?
a. A moth that looks and acts like a hummingbird
b. A bear that sleeps in a cave all winter long
c. A colorful fish that lives in brightly colored coral
d. An elephant that uses its large ears to fan itself
12. Why can this animal survive in a polar ecosystem?
a. It is adapted to survive in the dark
b. It is adapted to survive in the cold
c. It is adapted to survive with little waters
d. It is adapted to survive in high temperatures
Explain the reasoning for your answer.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4.A Pre-Assessment
Science Matters
3 13. Which organism would survive well in a desert?
a. An animal that eats fish
b. A plant with many thin leaves
c. A plant with a waxy coating on its leaves
d. An animal with a thick layer of fur and fat
14. Below is a food web.
fox
Black bear
owl
deer
rabbit
berries
Fill in the chart using this food web. Mark yes if you know what the word means,
and no if you don’t. Give an example of the word using names in the food web.
Word
Yes
No
Identify an organism in the food web that
has this role
Producer
Consumer
Herbivore
Carnivore
15. In the above food web, what would happen to the rabbit if the black bear were
taken out of the food web?
a. The number of rabbits would decrease
b. The number of rabbits would increase
c. The number of owls would increase
d. The number of deer would increase
4.A Pre-Assessment
Science Matters
4 16. What is an example of a positive way in which human action impacts an
ecosystem?____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
17. Some rainforest plants live high up in trees and have long roots that grow into
the soil. The word that best describes this is:
a. Extinction
b. Adaptation
c. Abiotic
d. Producer
18. Complete the following chart. Mark yes if you know the word, no if you do
not. If you know the word, write a definition for it.
Word
Food Chain
Yes
No
Definition
Abiotic
Omnivore
Balanced Ecosystem
Energy
19. What is an example of a negative way in which human action impacts an
ecosystem?____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
20. Mary says matter cycles in a food chain. What does that mean?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4.A Pre-Assessment
Science Matters
5 Pre Assessment
Expected Student Responses for a High Level Response
1. Which of the following depends on the other for shelter in order to survive?
a. Cat - dog
b. Wolf – rabbit
c. Squirrel-tree
d. Rabbit – carrot
2. What is an ecosystem?
a. The place an animal lives
b. The role that plants and animals have
c. The climate and other non living things in a certain area
d. The relationship of living and non-living things
3. Which show a path of food energy?
a. Sun->fish->plant->bear
b. Bear->fish->plant->sun
c. Sun->plant->fish->bear
d. Plant->fish->bear->sun
4. Which do decomposers provide for plants?
a. Nutrients
b. Protection
c. Shade
d. Shelter
5. A non-living part of an ecosystem might be
a. Antlers on a deer
b. Shade on a person
c. A dead leaf
d. A nut on a tree
6. If the sun were completely blocked so that it no longer provided energy to the
plants in a lake, what would happened to the remaining life in the lake?
a. Only the animals that eat the plants would die
b. Only the plants would dies
c. All of the organisms in the lake would die
d. All of the carnivores would die
7. Describe one way in which bacteria is helpful in the environment
Acts as decomposer, which breaks down matter and recycles it to the soil to
be used again by plants.
4.A Pre-Assessment
Science Matters
6 8. What is a nonliving thing in freshwater ecosystems?
a. Fish
b. Frogs
c. Dead Plants
d. Water
9. Which of the following describes consumers?
a. Organisms which are able to make sugars for energy
b. Organisms that must eat other animals for energy
c. Organisms that must eat other plant or animals for energy
d. Organisms that break down dead bodies and waste
10. Bacteria, fungi and earthworms are all?
a. Scavengers
b. Decomposers
c. Consumers
d. Producers
11. Which of these is an example of camouflage?
a. A co A moth that looks and acts like a hummingbird
b. A bear that sleeps in a cave all winter long
c. A colorful fish that lives in brightly colored coral
d. An elephant that uses its large ears to fan itself
12. Why can this animal survive in a polar ecosystem?
a.
b.
c.
d.
It is adapted to survive in the dark
It is adapted to survive in the cold
It is adapted to survive with little waters
It is adapted to survive in high temperatures
Explain the reasoning for your answer: it has thick fur and a layer of fat that
protects it from the cold
13. Which organism would survive well in a desert?
a. An animal that eats fish
b. A plant with many thin leaves
c. A plant with a waxy coating on its leaves
d. An animal with a thick layer of fur and fat
4.A Pre-Assessment
Science Matters
7 14. Below is a food web.
fox
Black bear
owl
deer
rabbit
berries
Fill in the chart using this food web. Mark yes if you know what the word
means, and no if you don’t. Give an example of the word using names in the
food web.
If students know the word, can they identify the organism?
Word
Producer
Consumer
Herbivore
Carnivore
Yes
No
Identify an organism in the food web that
has this role
berries
Any of the following: rabbit, owl,
fox, black bear, deer
Rabbit or deer
Any of the following:
Owl, fox, black bear
15. In the above food web, what would happen to the rabbit if the black bear were
taken out of the food web?
a. The number of rabbits would decrease
b. The number of rabbits would increase
c. The number of owls would increase
d. The number of deer would increase
16. What is an example of a positive way in which human action impacts an
ecosystem? Any example that is positive, like organic farming, replanting
trees that are harvested, living off the grid
4.A Pre-Assessment
Science Matters
8 17. Some rainforest plants live high up in trees and have long roots that grow into
the soil. The word that best describes this is:
a. Extinction
b. Adaptation
c. Abiotic
d. Producer
18. Complete the following chart. Mark yes if you know the word, no if you do
not. If you know the word, write a definition for it.
If student checked yes, is the definition appropriate?
Word
Food Chain
Yes
No
Definition
Who eats whom; sun’s energy captured by
producer, converts it to nutrients for
consumers; decomposers break down
matter and return it to the soil
Abiotic
Non-living parts of an ecosystem like rock,
rain, sun, wind
Omnivore
A type of consumer in a food chain or web
that eats both plant and animals
Balanced
Ecosystem
A community of biotic and abiotic
components, which are healthy so that the
population, over time is stable. The amount
of organisms are supported by the amount
of resources
19. What is an example of a negative way in which human action impacts an
ecosystem? Any appropriate example like pollution, over fishing, over
farming, cutting down the rain forest
20. Mary says matter cycles in a food chain. What does that mean?
The amount of matter in the nutrients plants produce is cycled through the
consumers and finally broken down by the decomposers back to the soil
so that plants can use it again.
4.A Pre-Assessment
Science Matters
9